TravelBrands is setting sail with Shore Excursions Group, the world’s largest shore excursion provider. The collaboration brings a portfolio of over 4,000 tours in 300-plus ports worldwide, providing travel agents and their clients with high-quality, lower-priced excursions that enhance their travel experiences.
A group of tourism companies have collectively pledged over $5.5 million to help the community of Jasper recover from last summer’s wildfire. Stuart Back, chief operating officer of the Banff Jasper Collection by Pursuit, said this initiative had been months in the making and required coordination between various stakeholders and organizations.
The Los Cabos Tourism Board has launched a digital platform designed to enhance trip planning for both travellers and travel advisors. Featuring AI-powered tools, 360-degree virtual tours, interactive maps, and customizable itineraries, the platform simplifies the process of exploring the destination’s offerings.
A Delta Airlines plane flying from Minneapolis-St. Paul flipped upon arrival at Toronto’s Pearson Airport and ended up on its roof Monday, injuring 17 passengers including three who are in critical condition. The accident happened at about 2:15 p.m. and flights at the airport were grounded for around two and half hours.
Air Canada says it may reduce flights to certain US destinations later this year if demand from travellers begins to lag, as the airline acknowledged it is coping with uncertainty from the current economic environment, including the threat of tariffs.
This week: Travel Leaders Network, Virtuoso, Carnival Cruise Line, Globus Family of Brands, TTC Tour Brands, and Brazil’s tourist board, Embratur.
Virgin Atlantic, which will launch service from Toronto Pearson (Terminal 3) on March 30, and WestJet have announced an expanded codeshare agreement that will facilitate connections on Virgin between London Heathrow and 13 Canadian gateways via YYZ. The two airlines will co-locate at Toronto Pearson International Airport’s Terminal 3.
Tapping into what it says is enormous growth in wellness travel, Goway has introduced a new product line designed to help travellers “renew, refresh, and recharge.” Channeling the “three Rs” of travel, Goway’s Ultimate Wellness packages also offer authentic ways for travellers to relax and reconnect, the tour company says.
Wimpy would have been the word to describe the last two winters in Ottawa too, when temperatures never plunged low enough, for long enough, for winter activities to abound. The canal skating rink never opened at all in 2023, a historic first, and in 2024 was open for only a handful of days on a very narrow portion, with poor skating conditions.
Donald Trump ‘toured’ a Boeing airplane to check out new hardware and technology features and to highlight the aircraft maker’s delay in delivering updated versions of the Air Force One presidential aircraft, the White House said Saturday.
Paul Jervis. That name may not be familiar to those relatively new to our industry but Paul was a man at the forefront of many of the paradigm changes that impacted Canadian travel and tourism especially in the eighties and nineties. Tragically Paul died in Mexico, on February 4th, after suffering a brain hemorrhage.
An internal government report warned a year ago that allowing “the trend of negative rhetoric” about the security of the Canada-US border could lead to a thickening of the 49th parallel, adversely affecting trade and travel. The report, written by a diplomat at Canada’s embassy in Washington, said that failing to refute US claims about a “crisis at the northern border” would lead to the erosion of Canada’s image as a secure neighbour.
Canadians are prioritizing travel in 2025, with total projected vacation spending reaching $25.5 billion. Despite inflationary pressures, the anticipated average vacation budget remains steady at $4,012 ($4,028 in 2024), showing a continued commitment to leisure travel.
The Taliban are taking over the operations of Afghanistan’s only luxury hotel in Kabul, more than a decade after they launched a deadly attack there that killed nine people. The Serena Hotel closed its operations in the Afghan capital on Feb. 1, with the Hotel State Owned Corporation taking over.
News nuggets, airlines, hotels/resorts, cruising, tours, events, FAMS/incentives, deals, destinations and more are covered in our weekly round-up of travel industry news you may have missed.
World Pride this year is to be held in Washington DC and international delegates and tourists are expected to flock to the city during the festivities which run from May 23 to June 8. But there is a fly in the ointment. Donald Trump’s executive order, signed on day one of his presidency, does not sit well with the LGBT+ community, both domestic and global, and there are serious concerns as to what treatment visitors can expect at the Border and at the festivities.
A major winter storm disrupted travel plans, closed schools and shuttered city services across Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces Thursday, as communities dug out from upwards of 20 centimetres of snow, with blustery winds and freezing rain forecast to move east.
There’s no shortage of natural wonders and travel destinations in Alberta’s north; however, the biggest draw for visitors isn’t the boreal splendour or isolated lakes, it’s the people who live there. There are approximately 1.4 million domestic visitors to the northern Alberta annually, according to the most recent national travel survey released by Statistics Canada. The top trip purpose, equalling about a third of all tourists, was to visit friends and family.
A Maine coon cat named Mittens became an accidental jetsetter recently when her cage was overlooked in a plane cargo hold and she made three trips in 24 hours between New Zealand and Australia.
What’s a wood ear? You’ll find out as Windstar Cruises whips up new tastes with its new complimentary Asian/Mediterranean specialty restaurant Basil + Bamboo. The new concept is taking the place of Cuadro 44 restaurant across the line’s fleet in 2025. It’s first on Star Breeze in February 2025, and will debut as the new alternative dining venue aboard Star Seeker, due in December.
It’s been a long time since Led Zeppelin rock and rolled: Dec. 7, 2007, to be exact, and that was 27 years after their last concert with the original foursome in 1980 (before John Bonham died). But fans can now relive the era of arguably rock’s best band with the release of “Becoming Led Zeppelin,” a new documentary that opened last week at IMAX theatres, but debuts in regular theatres today (Friday).
A huge winter storm was expected to descend across parts of Ontario and Quebec late Wednesday and quickly spread across Atlantic Canada over the next two days, prompting Environment Canada to issue a flurry of weather warnings.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has begun lobbying the current US administration. This has included pleas to reverse the regulatory decisions the Department of Transportation (DOT) implemented during the Barack Obama and Joe Biden administrations.
Princess Cruises – aka “The Love Boat” – will celebrate its 60th anniversary this year with a special 14-day anniversary cruise to Mexico, departing from Los Angeles on Dec. 6. On sale now, the 60th Anniversary Mexican Riviera Voyage aboard the Royal Princess will include some of the same ports on the cruise line’s first-ever voyage, which set sail on Dec. 3, 1965, on Princess Patricia.
The Britannic Explorer, newly unveiled by Belmond, is the first luxury sleeper train in England and Wales. Set to debut in July 2025. The Britannic Explorer will depart from London, offering three-night journeys with a choice of three routes through the spectacular natural landscapes of Cornwall, The Lake District, and Wales.
A lighthearted Danish petition is pledging to “bring hygge to Hollywood” by buying the state of California in response to Donald Trump’s talk about taking control of Greenland, a vast and mineral-rich Arctic island, from Denmark.
This week: Amex GBT powers eco-conscious choices; Ensemble powers Rwandan woman; ACTA posts key 2025 event dates for; incentives from Sunwing/Blue Diamond, Encore Cruises, G Adventures, and Africa Travel; and a Bob Marley-based trip contest by the Jamaica Tourist Board.
Airlines expect a strong tailwind from travel demand in 2025. United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and several other US-based carriers have all given investors strong forecasts for the year and Wall Street expects major airlines to increase revenue and profit in 2025. (Air Canada will present its present its fourth quarter and full year 2024 results on Feb. 14).
Tainted alcohol is becoming a problem for foreign travellers in some small tourist areas in South East Asia. A bartender in a popular Vietnamese tourist town has been arrested in relation to the deaths of two foreign tourists. Authorities in Hoi An say they died of methanol poisoning from tainted alcohol.
Set in the ancient Wychwood forest in the Cotswolds (about 30 minutes from Oxford), TreeDwellers takes modern accommodation to new heights with seven eccentric “treehouses” that seamlessly blend both luxury and nature.